By Every Word

The Lord’s Prayer 05

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Jul 212010

Luke 11:2
…Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done.
KJV

We’re wanting His kingdom- not man’s kingdom- but His kingdom. To what?… to come! We need it! Our kingdom’s have failed, our kingdom’s become corrupt without His influence. Without the influence of heaven’s government we self destruct.

Not only His kingdom, but His will. We want what He wants. This is another area we get off in sometimes and miss the mark. We don’t know His word and so we can’t pray effectively according to His word and we wonder why we don’t see results.

1 John 5:14
This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
NASB

See, we’re praying “Lord give me some money. I need some things. Give me a new job.” But we don’t have God’s word in order to back us up. We have to know HIS word and ask Him according to His will. The good thing about God though is that when He speaks it becomes law and God cannot go against His own word. So all you have to do is read and understand His word and then ask Him according to His will.

[Ineffective Prayer] “Lord, bring me some money.”

[Effective Prayer] “Lord, you see our financial situation, but you always take care of us. You said in Your word Lord- that we are to be lenders and not borrowers and that we’re to be above only!”

What’s the difference in these two prayers? The second puts pressure on God because it reminds Him of His word and His promise. To some who still have religious roots they’re trying to get rid of this will sound slightly shocking… “pressure…. on God?”

God said in His word “prove me”. He is waiting for His people to realize who they are- that they are His children, and He is their Father- and a good Father always takes care of His children. Those that truly call Him Lord, do what He says. Look again at Jesus prayer- “thy will be done”. It’s not your will- it’s His will- so we need to find out what His will is and line up with it and ask according to His will. Search the scriptures and remind God of His word.

Have you ever read in the bible many times where God says “I remembered my covenant with my people“? Does God forget? Of course not- someone is praying and asking Him according to His will! God hears us when we ask according to His will. (1 John 5:14) There is a scripture for every prayer you can possibly pray- we just have to know His word and His promises and then say “Lord, this is what you said- not me.” God wants us to trust His word so much that we live and die by it and expect His word in our life to be fulfilled because He said it. We have to understand His word is law and His promises are rights!

The first amendment in the Bill of Rights of the U.S. says this
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This is a right! We have freedom of religion and the freedom to exercise it. If we were unsure about being able to exercise our freedom- and had to ask permission to do so, and even then our request might be denied- we would not put faith in this statement. But because it’s a right we fight for it because it’s the right of every citizen of the United States to have freedom of religion and to exercise it. We don’t even question it- it belongs to us.
My question to you then is… why do we not understand the rights our God has given us in His word? Now God’s rights are unwavering, His promises never fail, What He has said He will perform! No one can have God’s rights changed in court- there is no amending His word because you don’t agree with it anymore. As a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven you need to believe in His words and trust them- and know they are for you- for your benefit and pray according to your rights- which is His will!

I’m not supposed to be in debt, because God says in His word we’re not to be borrowers!

My status in life is not where God would have me to be because the bible says I am supposed to be above only!

I’m not supposed to be destitute because the bible says I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken!

This poverty is a curse and is not supposed to be so in God’s kingdom because He said He would have me to prosper, even as my soul prospers!

It doesn’t look like I have any choices on which way to go, but I know my God said in His word He shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory!

Get in His word, understand His word, understand His promises- your rights in His kingdom. He said them for a reason! If you don’t grab a hold of the promises God has had for you- you will be like the prodigal sons brother. He was always in the house, never left, but didn’t use what his father had for him in his kingdom. So when the prodigal son returned- the other son who stayed said “Father, I never left. Why have you not given me a robe? Why didn’t you kill the fatted calf for me? Where is my ring?” His father said “Son, you have always been with me.” What he is saying is – you had access to these things all along but never used them, never asked for them- so ‘shut-up!’ my son who was lost is home and we’re going to celebrate! Look at God’s word- let His kingdom be effective in your life!

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission.” (www.Lockman.org)

The Lord’s Prayer 02

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Jul 152010

Luke 11
2) And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven…
KJV

So here is where Jesus began to teach the disciples how to pray. He says Our Father.

This is a corporate prayer. He’s not just my Father, or your Father- He’s our Father. Sometimes we get so caught up with prayer being about me, me, me- that we forget we are praying to the government of Heaven. We are sending up a petition from a member of the body of Christ. This word, “our”, builds unity into our prayer.

Acts 20
35) I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
36) And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all.
KJV

Our brothers and sisters sometimes are weak and our prayers help to lift them.

Romans 15
1) We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
KJV

Ought means- you should do this, I expect you to do this, you better do this.

Look at how much is in this one word- ‘Our’. When we begin prayer like this it’s no longer just me, I am praying as a citizen of the kingdom of Heaven and I am praying a corporate prayer that includes all of us, which builds all of us and strengthens all of us.

Next, remember who you are praying to. The Father. This is so many things in one word. The word Father in the Hebrew is ABBA which also means source and sustainer. He is Source, Sustainer, Government, ABBA! Why is this important? It’s important because we are recognizing who He is to us at the start of our prayer. We don’t make Him Father God, He’s Father God no matter what- so it’s important that we acknowledge Him as Our Father. That’s all we can do- acknowledge Him. So when we begin our prayers we’re recognizing Him and saying “Our Source, our Sustainer, our Father”.

Please don’t miss this… A source is this.

Source: anything or place from which something comes, arises, or is obtained.
Dictionary.com

When you call Him Father- you are recognizing Him as where everything that you need comes from. You are stating that everything that has been obtained, will be obtained, or can be obtained, can only come from Him.
When you call Him Father you are declaring Him your Sustainer- that means what keeps you and maintains you is Him alone! Praise God! That is a powerful statement!

I have to add this in here right now…

John 4
23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

This use of spirit is very important. It is not capitalized so it’s not talking about the Holy Spirit, which is always capitalized. This word is lowercase and refers to “attitude and awareness”. You cannot worship God or pray effectively if your mind is not on what you’re doing. Your attitude has to be towards the thing, aware of what you are saying and who you are saying it to in order to do something in spirit.

So when you are calling on Him, Our Father, BE AWARE of what you are saying. When you understand these truths of these two short words, praying aware with an attitude of understanding- you’re calling upon the government of Heaven, Source and Sustainer of all things, in a corporate prayer from the body.

This is going to add so much to your prayer life- because we can only do something effectively, when we have understanding.

[Just as a side note: I am not teaching, to be so restrictive, that it's wrong to say "My Father". It's just important for us to understand that we pray for others and that Jesus was showing it's not just about us. What good is it, if I'm blessed and my friends and neighbors aren't. Sure, they can pray- but we lift up the weak in faith in our prayers. We're supposed to pray for one another. It's not just about your blessing, your needs, your wants- it's about the kingdom. It's not about one citizen having all the wealth and all the health, it's about His kingdom having wealth and being in good health. When we look at a country in the world and we see a few in power and living well, but most of the country is in poverty and sickness- there is something wrong. But when the entire nation thrives- wow how awesome. "What is it with those people, they are all in good health, all have their needs met, they all have joy, they all are blessed."]

That’s Kingdom!

Purpose of Prayer – Lesson 1

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Jul 092010

This is message 1 of the Kingdom Study Series on Prayer. In this message we explore the question “Why do we pray?” We first have to review God’s purpose which will open up questions we have all asked our self. There is a reason for prayer… as kingdom citizens, it’s time we discover what it is. Understand the purpose of prayer, and you can finally pray with purpose.

Murder

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Jul 062010

I was talking to a Pastor friend the other day and discussing with him about prayer and the mind. See, I did something wrong.

I committed… murder. That’s right, I… committed… MURDER.

Now that I have your attention let me explain before S.W.A.T. breaks down my door.

I must start off by explaining something very important for kingdom citizen’s to understand. In law there is an idiomatic antithesis between “the letter of the law” and “the spirit of the law”.

The letter of the law is when you take and obey the literal wording of the law.

The spirit of the law is when you interpret what the original authors of the law intended by the law.

This is so important for us to grasp and understand when we read the bible. Let me explain a real life analogy that I used recently. If I am with my son about to cross the street, I tell him to ‘hold my hand’. Now the letter of the law would interpret from this that he is to hold my hand no matter what. Regardless of circumstances he must never let go, because he must obey the literal wording of what I have said.
The spirit of the law though interprets that the reason I want him to hold my hand is because I don’t want him to get hit by traffic. Both would accomplish the same purpose in most circumstances- but what if while crossing I faint and fall in the street unconscious? If my son holds to the letter of the law, he cannot let go of my hand for any reason, putting him in danger. But if he understands the spirit of the law then he’ll know I didn’t want him to get hit by traffic and so he will let go of my hand and get to the safety of the curb… and hopefully get me help! When we read the bible we must know and understand these two contrasting views- it’s important to know both.

Now let’s look at the bible when Jesus explained the contrast between the two.

Matthew 5:21-22
21) Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
22) But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment

and this…

Matthew 5: 27-28
27) Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

This is revelation right here. See, there is a difference in what “we say” and what “He says”. Verse 21 of Matthew 5 Jesus is saying (paraphrase) “Look, you say if a man kills a man he is a murderer- BUT I say, if you even hate your brother you have committed murder.” See the problem with the way the pharisees taught was- by the time they realized they had done wrong it’s too late… someone’s dead or a marriage is wrecked. But the spirit of the law is that you have already committed murder in your heart if you hate your brother, or committed adultery if you look upon someone to lust after them. We have to understand God’s laws in order to obey them. If we think we have to kill someone to violate the law, but God’s intent is even the thought of it, then we never repent because of our ignorance. Our understanding has to be of the spirit of the word- so when we have these thoughts we’re convicted in our heart and can turn quickly and change our thinking.

Now, back to my charge. Sometimes it can be hard to pray for your enemies. I’m not talking about the occasional incident of someone who won’t let you yield onto the highway and you blow your horn at them- I’m talking about when you’re tested constantly for a season by someone who is in your life every day. This could be a friend, a neighbor, a boss, etc. You try to be the peace maker but it can feel like they want to destroy you, at least in the season. Now Jesus says to pray for our enemies and do good to them who despitefully use you. Sometimes we can feel like we’re doing this- but is it your words or your heart?

See in my situation with my words I was saying “Lord, bless them and help them- they need you God…”

But somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I was praying “LORD! REIGN DOWN BLOWS UPON THEIR HEAD WITH BOLTS OF LIGHTING FROM THE HEAVENS!”

This is funny now, but it’s serious. I was trying to pray and concentrate on what I was saying but somewhere in the back of my thinking, though I tried to hide it from myself, I was thinking “Well, God will understand what I really mean.” Sometimes we get the idea because we’re saying one thing that God will do the other thing because of our words… how incorrect. I realized then I had committed murder in my heart because of my aggravation of the situation. Now this whole scenario took place in about the span of 30 seconds… but that’s enough. It’s my understanding of the spirit of God’s word and my seeking of the kingdom and His righteousness that causes me to turn. I love Him, and if I love Him I will keep His commandments.

So… are you guilty of murder? Is there someone you have let get to you? You’ve tried to cover it up by praying for them with words only… but your heart has been resonating something else. Get rid of it now. Repent before that hate turns to bitterness. It’s not kingdom and you lock up heaven when this is in your heart. God CANNOT answer your prayers or release great things in your life when you hold the keys to earth and lock up heaven. It’s His word and His law, so He must follow it. (Matthew 5:24)

Release it now and unlock -(loose)- heaven again in your life.

Destroying Evidence

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Jun 242010

Have you ever felt you were wronged by someone in a way that it came against your character?
Ever felt like you were trying to prove who you were? And just when you did- someone tries to destroy the very thing that finally displayed beyond a shadow of a doubt you are who you say you are.

Well, I have good news for you, so did Jesus. I want you to take a look at this verse.

John 12
9) Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead.

10) But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;

11) Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus.

Wow! What a revelation this can be in our own life. Someone is going to read this next part and be uplifted and encouraged.

You may have had people come against you in the past, but don’t worry so did Jesus. These things must happen- because remember He said “No servant is greater than his master, they persecuted Me, they will persecute you”. The pharisees spent so much time trying to disprove who Jesus was- because they didn’t want to acknowledge Him. They even went as far as trying to destroy the very thing that proved He was who He said He was.
In law this would be called ‘destroying evidence’. When you are leading, when you are triumphing in life, when favor is upon you- people will come against you because you’re rising- don’t be surprised when this happens, in fact expect it. People will try to destroy the evidence of your calling… of your work.

They may even be the ones you wouldn’t expect. They may dress the part, have the robes, hold the office, have the title- but their deeds are not kingdom intent. The pharisees were more worried about losing “members’ than pleasing God. Members and worship of the letter of the law was all they had. Jesus came to fulfill the spirit of the law and brought what they couldn’t… results. So they consulted to destroy the evidence.

Do not fear what man can do to you though. They can only- HEAR ME! – They can ONLY do what is allowed for them to do by our God in heaven. We have nothing to prove. The evidence of our lives will speak volumes.

I love this kingdom!

The Courtroom

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May 192010

I was speaking to a friend the other day. He asked me, “How can I increase my faith?”

This is a common question we have all asked ourselves. I started with the scripture I think most know ‘Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” But then we delved into this a little bit deeper.

See we sometimes get this idea of faith being like God’s ‘fairie dust’ that He sprinkles on us when we’ve been really good, or read a lot of the bible, or prayed a lot or something. So our concepts are wrong because we have associated faith with something we’ve seen in movies, or read in books. Therefore we have setup a road block on the way to our understanding faith, and that sets us up for failure and feeling inadequate as a believer.

Faith is simply this- ‘Believing in or for something, based on God’s word, regardless of circumstances or opposing information or views, knowing that God’s word is the only evidence you need to substantiate your claim while continuing to trust in Him until it comes to pass.’

See what happens is we believe for a little while. Then when nothing seems to happen or change, we put worry and doubt into the equation. Then we say things like ‘Things like this always happen to me’.

Be careful- remember your words are powerful. You speak and then you end up what you spoke. See faith is powerful and it works both ways. Now I know some who would say “Ohhhh, God’s going to take care of you- we all say negative things sometimes.” -THAT’S NOT BIBLICAL!- That’s not kingdom. The bible say’s ‘without FAITH it’s impossible to please God.’

Did you read that? I-M-P-O-S-S-I-B-L-E! That means you cannot obtain the favor of the one who has the answers – the very One you are asking to intercede and move! We have got to get this! God is Holy. That means He cannot violate His own word, He does not lie, cannot lie, and never will lie. So when we doubt His word, we are doubting Him. And because of His word, the laws of the kingdom, He cannot act without violating His word if He moves in your situation and brings an answer to which you didn’t believe would happen. Now He may cause some things to happen to get you back in line with the kingdom, but He will not intervene until you are in line with His word. He’s just that holy.
He couldn’t make Jonah go to Ninevah- but He could influence Him with a whale. He couldn’t make Paul serve Him- but He could influence Him with blindness. God has His ways to get his children in line with His word so He can act in the earth. But who wants to have to get struck with blindness, or swallowed by a whale before saying “OK God, I’ll listen.”?

When you pray- you need to come to the court room of God prepared with His word. *Remember it’s the law of the kingdom. Ask Him according to His word.

“Lord you said this in YOUR word… , Lord here it is right here in YOUR word God… , Lord I didn’t say this, YOU did.”

See it’s about trusting His word regardless of the story your life is currently telling you.

1 John 3:22
22) And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

He’s a king. We remind Him of His word. God said ‘prove me’ (Malachi 3:10). He’s not a God that lies. We must continually believe for what it is He has promised- based solely on the fact that He said and so it’s just because He says so.

I laid it out to my friend like this. If you had a video camera in the front of your car and you were at a red light. The light goes green you accelerate and a cop then pulls you over for running a red light. You explain to him you accelerated after the light went green, but he refuses to change his decision. So you look at the tape from the camera (which is the evidence) and you decide to challenge the decision in court. From the tape you can see beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re at the light, it goes green and then you can the see the car is accelerating. You see clear evidence and know you are going to win. People tell you to just ‘pay the fine’ but you continue to wait until the court date. Friends and family may say ‘nothing will be changed in their decision’, but they don’t know about your evidence. If they knew about your evidence they would believe too. So you go through all of the constant advice ‘to just forget about it and pay for the ticket’, but you KNOW you’re going to win because of the evidence. You are going to court knowing the verdict because your evidence is completely solid. There is no way you can lose. Court time comes, the situation is laid out in the courtroom and then it comes time for you to state your defense. You play the tape and it is conclusive you are innocent and the ticket is dropped. The jury, the officer, the people in the courtroom may have had a made up mind before you even came in but the evidence changes everything. You win!

Hebrews 11:1
1) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

God’s word is the evidence. In fact, it is all the evidence you need. When God’s word enters the courtroom and is presented as evidence all other evidence is THROWN OUT! And to quote Dr. Munroe “and with the Father being the Judge, the Witness being your elder brother Jesus, and the Holy Ghost as your counsel- How can you lose?”

It’s fixed! How awesome is it to be in the kingdom. We just have to get our mentality changed from being of this world- and realize we’re from that world. Get in the book, understand the laws and promises and then show up to the court (prayer) and state your case.

My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches in glory! – He’s able to keep that which I have committed unto Him! – He’s able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that I may ask or even imagine! YOU said it Lord! I’m just trusting in You! My Owner, My Provider!

I love the kingdom!

It’s Textbook

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May 052010

You ever heard that phrase?
I’ll give you an example. A psychiatrist is working with an individual trying to figure out why someone is depressed a lot. The patient gives them a background of their child life and from this story the psychiatrist draws the conclusion, based on his education, the root of their depression. When the patient says how did you figure this out? The psychiatrist says “It’s textbook.”

What he means is that the persons life, stress, job, family history, or other determining factor is a very common scenario that causes these feelings. It is so common that it was put in a textbook to teach other aspiring counselors so they would be able to recognize this pattern.

I was recently talking with a friend and they were sharing with me how sometimes people make them feel when they act a certain way towards them, or say certain things. It bothered them and they would catch themselves thinking “Why is God letting me be treated like this?”

I told them one of the reasons they feel the way they do- is because they are caught unaware by other people’s actions or behaviors. And this goes back to their preparation for the day. How did you start your day today? It is so important to start off our day with prayer. Communicating with the Father in heaven over the day. The days events, happenings, and works. Who knows what the day has to offer better than the one who made the day. Yet we go into our day blindly- ‘hoping’ for the best. Look at the “Lord’s Prayer”.

“Our Father, who art in heaven- hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done- on earth- just as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread…”

This is a model prayer. Jesus was teaching the disciples how to pray. He told them to call on the Source. Where is the Source? In heaven. Then pray for His will to be done in the earth- JUST AS IT IS IN HEAVEN. Then He says to pray for daily bread. This is not talking about food- but everything you will need for the day. It is so important to prepare for the day and ask God to give everything we will need to do His will and carry out His purpose and work in that day.

Why do companies have meetings? To make sure everyone is on the same page and carrying out the same vision for the business. I’ve never seen an “effective” business hire a manager and say “Just go out their and see what you can do to make us some money.” They train them, give them instruction, teach them the vision of the company- so they can carry out the companies will.

So why do we go about our day and never get in touch with our… can I use the term “Heavenly CEO”? The one who has the vision, the plan, the purpose. We need the ‘daily memo’ so we are not caught unaware. When an employee acts irrational- a good manager is not lost for what to do next? He doesn’t say “Why is my company letting this happen to me?” No, he’s been trained. He’s been made aware that this can happen. He’s been made aware of employee issues. He’s not surprised when these occurrences happen.

It’s the same way with God. Many times we have those people that come up and act in a disrespectful way to us. Our initial response would be “What did you say to me BOY?!?” Because we were caught unaware.
But God is saying “If you had come to the meeting this morning, you would have got the memo.”

See if you are in daily communication -(prayer)- with the King- then you are able to go about the day being about the business of the Father. (Sound familiar? -Luke 2:49)

Pride is then not a factor- because you are ‘working’. And a threat made towards you is really towards the kingdom. You were ready, trained, prepared for that day’s agenda. So now you don’t take offense and are able to be effective because you were looking for it. You’re not caught by surprise because you were prepared in the meeting this morning…prayer. You were trained, instructed, and prepared- so you were able to recognize the situation when it come up. It’s no longer a “What am I going to do” moment; It’s textbook!

Start your day off with God. He will prepare you for the day. He will even tell you what to say.

Luke 12:12
For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.

Try it. You can always go back to your old ways, which are working so well…

Starting each day with communication (prayer) with the home government (heaven).

Now that’s kingdom!

Restoring the Natural Order of Man – Kingdom Study Series – Lesson 5

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May 042010

You were born for a purpose. You were created in the image and likeness of the Father in heaven for a reason. God created you with the intent on making you a ruler on earth. You were born to dominate the earth. So why are we letting life dominate us? Why do we continue to live in sin? We are out of order. It’s time to return to the natural order of things. The way God originally made it. The way He originally intended for things to be. Ruling under His authority. Carrying out His will. Return to the Creator’s natural order for your life!

What If

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May 042010

What if we were concerned more about our relationship with God than our relationship with people? We seem to have this backward most of the time. We spend hours with people and very little with God.

If we looked at the kingdom for what it is, the government of Heaven, than we would want to stay in right standing with our home government. We would want to keep our relationship with the government healthy. After all if you are not getting your intelligence daily from the government- what do you know?

We are after all ambassadors for Christ…

Newer Entries

By Every Word

The Lord’s Prayer 05

The Lord’s Prayer 02

Purpose of Prayer – Lesson 1

Murder

Destroying Evidence

The Courtroom

It’s Textbook

Restoring the Natural Order of Man – Kingdom Study Series – Lesson 5

What If

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